Electric sign-board.



` (LA. CHASE am. B. PARSONS.

l ELECTRIC SIGN BOARD.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT* 25 1914.`

Patented Mar. 12.1918;

l Y f l EL 1 rg i5 M122 y v 25 5l .e6 30. Zai/727265565.- 9 a Z In Ufa/z07 UNITED STATES. PATENT oEEIoE.

CHARLES A. cHAsE AND NEWELL E. PARSONS, OF cnIcAGo, ILLINOIS; SAIDPARSONS ASSIGNOE 'ro SAID CHASE.

ELECTRIC SIGN-BOARD.

To aZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, CHARLES A..CHASE.

ments in Electric Sign-Boards, of which the following is aspecification. 4

Our invention relates more particularly to that class' of sign boardsin'which the letters are removable at will and provided each with aseries of lamps which, when the letter is in position on the` signboard, are in `circuit with a source of electrical energy. It is'theobject of our invention to produce a sign-board of this character inwhich the` letters may be removed, replaced and interchanged with aminimum of effort, which is not easily damaged and that will resist wearand the weather without deterioration.

In a former Patent No. 835,848 granted to us November 18, 1906, wedisclosed an electricsignboard of the same gener l character in whichthe baclng or board,a proper is formed with one or more-horizontal slotsaccording to the 'number of rows of letters which itis desired to applyto the signboard,l lthe slots being inclined from the front to the rear,and the letters used therewith being formed or provided with tangs ortongues upon Atheir rear faces inclined to the letters at the same angleat which the slot is inclined to the face of the board so that the tangswhen inserted port for the letter. The tangs are hollow and formpassages for the electric conductors which convey the current to thelamps upon the letters. 4Our present invention may be considered in asense as anlimprovement` upon the construction of our former patent, theimprovement relating to the means for connecting the electric circuitsof the let- 'ters with the conductors upon the signboard for supplyingcurrent. In ythe-improved construction the -walls of the .slot whichreceive thel letter-supporting tangs are of insulating material and havepartially Y embedded thereln bus-bars by which current is supplied tothe letters, the`uppe1` and lower faces prf. vided with conductingbars'for contact Awith said 'bus-bars and connected respectively to theends of the light circuit of the letter., Thus the letter may4 besecured upon 1the signboard and in electrical connection Specificationof Letters Tatent. Application filed September 25, 1914. Serial No.863,441.

in the slot form a supof the tangs-being 'formed or Patented Mar.12,1918.

therewith by simply inserting the tang of the letter in the slot at anypoint along its length. In the preferred form, the walls of the slot arelined with stri s of insulating material properly spaced rom each otherby spacing blocks .arranged at suitable intervals. In the accompanyingdrawings we have shown and in the following specification described indetail two preferred forms of our invention. Itis to be understood,however, that the Specific disclosure is for the purpose ofexemplification only and that the scope of our invention is defined inthe following claims in vwhich we have endeavoredftodistinguish it fromthe prior art so far as known to us without, however, re-

linquishing or abandoning any portion or.

feature thereof.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 l is 'a vertical section througha sign-board /embodying ourl invention; Fig. 2is an elevation partly insection of a detail; Fig. 3 is a section similar to Fig. 1, but with apart to be referred to later, omitted; Fig. 4 is a section on line 4.-4of Fig. 3 with parts shown in elevation, a part being removed for thesake of clearness; Fig. 5 a vertical section on a plane parallel to thatof Figs.

1 and?, on line 5-5 of Fig. 4; Fig. 6 a rear elevation of one of thespacing blocks; Fig. 7 a rear elevation4 of the lining strips assembledwith the spacers between them; and Fig. 8 a'seetion of a modied form.

Figs. 1 and 3, the body of the backing or sign-board proper is shown at8 and may be of metal, wood or any other suitable material. The board isdivided by a series of horizontal slots 9, correspondingv in number ltothe lines of letters to be used, there being a single slot foreach lineof letters.

The slots are inclined downwardly from the front to the rear of the*board and lined with 'bakelite or similar non-conducting material, astrip of such material lining the upper side of the slot being shown at10 and a strlplining the lower side of the slot being shown -at 11. `Thelining strips with 'their conductors and spacing elements are preferablyassembled as shown inzFigs. 5

signboard. In order toA provide for the firm' 4 and 7 before beingplaced in the-slots of the attachment of'lthese stripsto the board,strip 10.is ing upwar from the forward edge thereof and engaged by.screw bolts 13 by which it provided with a flange 12 extendfrom anattaching plate 17 which is secured by screws 18 to said letter. rlhisatt-aching member may also be made of bakelite or simi-l larnon-conducting material and the terminals 19 and 2O of the wiring systemof the letter extend through bosses 21 on the forward face of the plateor bracket 17 and are embedded in the opposite faces of the tang ortongue respectively, as'at 22, 28, (see Fig. l) lin order to properlysecure theconductors in the faces of the tang or tongue and yet permitthem to project to contact with the busbars to be presently described,they are embedded into the respective faces of the tang being preferablysecured in their proper position during the molding of the insulatingmember.

rlhe bus-bars 2d, 25 are preferably formed of sections of suitablelength arranged end .to end in the upper and lower lining members 10,11, respectively (see dotted lines, Fig. 7), and like the contactingmembers on the tangs of the letters are preferably embedded into thesurface of the insulating material. lEach section is provided with aseparate conductor or connector by which Y it is maintained inelectrical connection with the source of electrical energy. Preferablythese connectors areiembedded in the faces of spacing blocks 26 whichare arranged at suitable intervals. along the slot to maintain theproper spacing of the walls thereof and preferably to cover the meetingends of the sectional bus-bars. As shown in lFig. 5 the spacing blocksare secured in place by bolts 27 extending therethrough and through bothof the insulating lining strips of the slot and screws 28 which screwinto sockets 29 embedded in the insulating material of a spacf ingblock. The screws are preferably ar- .50,

ranged to one side of the spacing block, as shown in Figs. t and 6 forinsulation, and the other side is occupied by the conductors 30, 31,upon the upper and lower faces of the blocks respectively.' rlheseconductors are embedded in the blocks a suflicient distance so thattheir facesare brought firmly into A contact with the respectivebus-bars 24,' 25

and yet permit the faces of the spacing blocks to be brought into closecontact with the liners of the slot. The contacts are'secured inposition by screws 32, and by ref-Y erence to Figs. l and 6 it will beseen that the upper contact member is shorter than the lower because ofthe arrangement of the bus-bars (Fig. 3) which are not opposite messageeach other but arranged with the upper bar more remote from the face ofthe board than the lower s o Ythat the weight of the letter borne by thetang will force the contact on the tang into intimate contact with therespective bus-bars. rl`he ends of the conductors 30, 31 may be brazed'or otherwise suitably secured to wires leading to a source of electricalenergy. (Obviously but a single conductor need be applied to each of thesections of the bus-bars so that there need be only one of the spacingblocks 26 to each pair of bus-bar sections. 1f further spacing is founddesirable a plain block without conductors may be interposedintermediate each pair of spacing blocks 26. 4'

@bviously it is not essential that the slots and the tangs on theletters be rectilinear. We have shown in Fig. 8 a curved construction inwhich the upper lining strip 102L and the lower lining strip 11a arecurved in the arc of a circle and the tank 16a is correspondinglycurved, the bus-bars 24a and 25a being located as shown. A drainageopening 4:2 may be employed to drain the connection of the lowerconductor. This construction has the advantage that the bus-bar 25a isfully protected from the elements, the rear end of the slot being closedas shown.

By our improved construction we have provided an electric signboard inwhich the letters are very readily removed and replaced or adjustedlongitudinally of the slot to the desired distance from the adjacentletters irrespective of the'width thereof and the contacts of the letterare firmly pressed against their respective bus-bars. At the same timethe construction is such that there is no danger of the letter being.accidentally displaced or disconnected from the board.' While we havereferred to the letters as each having a series of lamps mountedthereon, obviously a single lamp could be mounted on the letter or thelamp itself directly attached to a suitable tang for use in connectionwith the backboard, or translating devices other than lamps might beemployed with our improvedv connection.

We claim:

1. ln a device of the class described, a support having a horizontalslot therein, the walls of which are inclined from frontto rear of saidsupport, lining strips of insulating material in said slot, a pair ofbus-bars at' the upper and lower sides of said slot respectively, and anelectric fixture having a connecting tang thereon, said tang adapted toenter the slot and having upper and lower contacts thereon to engage therespective bus-bars.V

2. ln av device of the class described, a support having a horizontalslot therein the walls of which are inclined from front to rear of saidsupport, longitudinally extending bus-bars rigidly mounted in said slot3130 at the upper and lower sides thereof re- 3. In a vdevice of theclass described, a

support having a horizontal slot therein the walls of which are ofinsulating material, longitudinal bus-bars rigidly mounted in the upperand lower walls respectively of the slot and projecting from thesurfaces thereof, an electric fixture, a tang thereon adapted to entersaid slot, electric contacts fixed in the upperand lower surfacesrespectively of said tang and adapted to engage the respective bus-bars,the vertical diameter of the tang being materially less than the minimumdiameter of the slot, the fixture being so attached toy thetang that theweight thereof tends to force the outer end of the tang upward.

1l. In a device of the class described, a support having a horizontalslot therein,

bus-bars on opposite sides'of said slot, an

'electric' fixture having a tang (adapted to enter said slot, said tangcomprising a body of insulating material and a pair of contact barsextending longitudinally of the tang on the upper. and lower facesthereof respectively, and partially embedded in but projecting beyondsaid faces.

5. In a device of the class described, a support having a horizontalslot therein,

- inclined from the front to the rear yof the support and the walls ofwhich are of insulating material, bus-bars rigidly supported on theupper and lower walls of said slot respectively, an electric fixturehaving a tang thereon adapted to enter said slot, said tang beingcomposed of insulating material and having upper and lower contactstrips embedded therein, rigidly 'connected thereto and adapted toengage the` contacts in the wall of the slot. I

6. In a device of the class described, a support having a horizontalslot therein, the walls of which slot are of insulating material, a pairof bus-bars arranged within said slot, an'electric fixture, a connectingtang on said fixture adapted to enter said slot and having upper andlower contacts adapted to engage the respective bus-bars, the weight ofthe fixture being so arranged with reference to said tang that when inposition it tends to force the contacts on the tang linto closer'contactwith the respective busars.

7. In a device of. the class described, a support having a horizontalslot-therein,

bus-bars arranged respectively on the upper` and lower walls of saidslot, that upon the upper wall being more remote from the face of thesupport than that upon the lower wall; an electric fixture having `atang adapted and designed to enter said-slot, said tang having contactsupon the upper and lower faces respectively thereof, adapted to makecontact with the respective bus-bars, the weight of the fixture being soattached to the tang as to tend to throw the free end vof the tangupward. v y v 8. A backing having a horizontal slot, therein, said `slotbeing inclined ,from the face to the rear of saidy board, lining stripsof insulating material in said slot, bus-bars in said lining stripsextending longitudinally of said slot and oset transversely of said slotwith respect to each other, and a device having a series of electriclamps thereon, and a tang inclined substantially at the angle of saidslot and adapted to enter the latter, andl contacts arranged on the tangfor engagement with the bus-bars in the slot.

9. A backing having a slot extending longitudinally thereof, bus-barsextendingY 4longitudinally of--the slot, spacing blocks in said slot,contact members in the faces of said spacing blocks engaging therespective bus-bars anda device having a series of electric lampsthereon and a tang adapted to enter said slot and contacts on said tangadapted to engage the bus-bars.

l0. A backing having ay horizontal slot therein, the walls of the slotbeing of insulating material, a pair of bus-bars arranged respectivelyin the upper and lower walls of said slot, a letter adapted to beattached 1 to said sign-board having a series of electric lamps thereon,a tang on the letter adapted to enter said slot and support the device,conductors rigidly connected to said tang and arranged to make contactwith the conductors in the slot, the diameter of the` tang beingmaterially less than the distance between the conductors on the walls ofthe slot.

11. In a device of the class described, a',

support having a horizontal slot therein, the walls of the slot being ofinsulating material, bus-bars arranged respectively on the upper andlower walls of said slot, the bsbar on the upper wall being'more remotefrom the face of the support than lthe bus- -bar on the lower wall, andan electric fixture having a connecting tang thereon, said tang adaptedto enter the slot, Vand having upper and lower contacts thereon toengage the respective bus-bars.

l CHARLES A. CHASE.

NEWELL B. PARSONS.. Witnesses:

ROBERT DOBBENMAN,

lFmELIs MAIGHEN.

